Refrigerating apparatus



March 17, 1942. v VE 2,276,964

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed July 51,' 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Ve/emrr 1: 6:0 vs.

WM A! v. 1. GROVE REFRIGERATING APPARATUS March 17, 1942,

Filed July 51, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

' l/emvsr f. Gem z.

BY W Z4W M ms ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 17, 1942 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Vernet I. Grove, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation poration of Delaware Application July 31, 1940,-Serial No. 348,699

8 Claims.

a water cooling apparatus wherein the water to be cooled for drinking purposes is precooled in stages by different cooling sources prior to its final cooling and withdrawal from the apparatus.

A further object of'my inventionis to provide a water cooling apparatus with an improved low cost and compact precooler having extended heat transfer surfaces that utilize waste water of the apparatus for rendering the surfaces effective.

A stillfurther and more specific object of my invention is to provide a precooler for a water cooling apparatus in the form of a relatively flat pan or tank, adapted to receive cold waste water from the drain basin of the apparatus, constructed and arranged to cause the waste water to flow back and forth across the pan or through the tank and in contact with a water precooling pipe ant to the restrictor. or expansion device I! from upon flowing downwardly over an inclined bottom wall of the tank or pan.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference'being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through the upper part of a refrigerated water cooling apparatus having a precooler incorporated therein and constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the precooler disclosed in Fig. 1 and showing a part of the cover thereof broken away; and O a Fig. 3 isa sectional view of the precooler taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 with the cover thereon.

I am aware of the fact that precoolers, utilizing cold waste water from the drinking fountain of mechanically refrigerated water coolers, have previously been employed but little attention has been given these precoolers to obtain maximum efllciency therefrom. Accordingly the feature of my invention is to provide a precooler for a water cooler which utilizes to the utmost efficiency the temperature of the cold waste water for precooling relatively warm water entering a water Dayton, Ohio, a corcooler. For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings the upper part only of a refrigerated water cooler cabinet which may be of, rectangular or square form in horizontalcross-sectional contour. The Water cooler comprises a casing it having a basin ll mounted thereon and a bottom plate I2. Elements I0, II and i2 form an enclosure which houses an evaporator of a closed refrigerant circulating system. Any suitable insulating material l4 surrounds the evaporator and extends outwardly therefrom to the walls of the enclosure. The evaporator is in the form of a vertically disposed coil l5 which surrounds and is preferably secured to a closed water tank or cooling chamber l6. Cooling chamber or .tank It may be formed of two shells telescoped and secured together to provide a spaced apart double walled structure which receives refrigerant between the walls for directly and finally cooling water within-the chamber or tank. Such a structure is wellknown in the sheet metal evaporator art and needs no further.v description herein. The evaporator coil I5 is provided with an inlet connection in the form' of asuitable restrictor or expansion valve II. A pipe l8 conveys liquid refrigera condenser (not shown) of a conventional refrlgerating system whereupon the liquid refrigerant isexpanded upon entering the coil IS. The outlet pipe l9 of the evaporator coil I5 is connected to the compressor (not shown) of the conventional refrigerating system and the compressor withdraws evaporated or gaseous refrigant from the evaporator coil I5 to augment the expansion or vaporization of refrigerant therein to cause same to produce a refrigerating effect. A thermostat bulb or. tube 2| contacts coils of the evaporator l5 and may be connected to a bellows located within a suitable snap switch for controlling operation of the motor-compressorcondenser unit of the refrigerating system as is also conventional in the art. The convolutions of evaporator coil l5 are spaced apart and a water coil 23 which also surrounds the tank I 6 is inter-nested with the evaporator in the space between its coiled convolutions. Water coil 23 'has an outlet pipe connection 24 connected into a fitting 25, upon-which the tank I6 is supported from the bottom plate l2, and thi fitting is provided with a port 26 communicating with the in terlor of the Water storage and cooling tank It.

, A pipe 21 is threaded into the port 26 and extends upwardly within the tank It to a point near the top thereof.

Any suitable baflle arrangement may be provided within tank l5 to cause water discharged from the open end of pipe 21 to fiow outwardly therefrom and downwardly along and in contact with the side walls of tank |5 which water is thereby cooled by the refrigerating efiect produced by evaporator l5. A discharge pipe 23 communicating with the bottom portion of tank I5 is secured to-fitting 25 and extends therethrough and upwardly to a valved fountain or bubbler 3| mounted upon the basin H of the water cooling apparatus. This fountain or bubbler may be of any suitable or well-known construction and is preferably of the type disclosed in the copending. application of Wilford H. Tetter, Serial No. 347,344, filed July 24, 1940. Water coil 23 is provided with an inlet pipe 33 for directing water through the coil into the and extended: over the reversely bent end portion 54 thereof iandconnected to the outletggn- It will e noted that the portions 75f pipe 5| intermediate the bends 54 extend across the pan 5| in a direction opposite or substantially at right angles to the direction of inclina- 'tion of the pan bottom wall 52 and that these intermediate portions of pipe 5| are disposed at a slight angle with respect to one another. The reversely bent end portions 54 of pipe 5| are also welded or otherwise suitably sealed to the upright side walls .of pan 5|. Along two sides of pan 5| adjacent the reversely bent end portions 54 of pipe 5| I provide a plurality of spaced apart depressions 55 in the inclined bottom wall 52 of pan 5|. Cover 54 of precooler 35 has an opening therein which receives the one end of pipe 35 tank It. The inter-nesting of the water coil 23 with the refrigerant evaporator coil |5 provides a precooler for water entering thetank |5 to be cooled. Ordinarily all the pre-cooling of incoming water to tank I5 is carried out b transferring heat of the water within coil 23 to refrigerant within evaporator coil l5 and such method of precooling the water places an undue load or requirement on the refrigerating system. My invention contemplates a precooling of the water to be cooled for drinking purposes prior to its flowing in intimate heat exchange relation with the evaporator coil l5 to thereby take some of the load off the refrigerating system and increase the efiiciency thereof as well as to increase the capacity of the water cooler.

In the present disclosure I provide a precooler generally represented by the. reference character 35 in Fig. '1 of the drawings and connect the same to a pipe 35 which conveys cold waste water from the drain-pit 31 of basin thereinto. The precooler device 35 is preferably disposed above the tank It so that the insulation |4 within casing l surrounds the bottom sides thereof. A pipe 33 having a connection 33 with the precooler 35 and a connection 4| projecting through a wall of casing l3 conveys the waste water from the precooler 35 to the sewer drain. Precooler 35 contains a water pipe that has an inlet pipe connection 42 provided with a coupling 43 which projects through a wall of easing It for connection with a source of water supply. The precooler 35 also has an outlet connection 44 to which the inlet pipe 33 of water coil 23 is connected. Describing the precooler 35 more in detail with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings it will be noted that this precooler is in the form of a fiat closed tank. The tank of precooler 35 comprises a shallow horizontally disposed pan having an inclined bottom wall 52. A plurality of studs 53 welded or otherwise suitably secured to the upright side walls of pan 5| extend through openings provided in a cover 54 and wing nuts 55 threaded upon the studs 53 hold the cover tightly in place on pan 5| to provide the closed tank precooler 35. A rubber or other suitable resilient material gasket 55 is disposed between cover 54 and the edges of the upright pan walls to seal the tank. The cover 54 prevents foreign matter from getting into the tank and prevents clogging or stoppage of the path of flow of waste water to be hereinafter described. A flat, serpentine in form, water conveying pipe 5| is disposed in tank 35 and is welded or otherwise suitablysealed to the inclined bottom wall thereof. This serpentine pipe 5| has its one end 52 connected to the water inlet extending from the drain-pit 31 ofbasin A plate 51 is welded to pipe 5| at a point beneath the open end of pipe 35 and this plate is dis posed at an angle so as to direct water entering the device 35 onto the pan on the one or upper side of the pipe 5|. In the central lower portion of the inclined bottom wall 52 of pan 5| I provide an outlet opening 58 which communicates with the connection 33.

When a lever or button on bubbler or fountain 3| is depressed cooled water from the cooling chamber or tank l5 flows through pipe 29 and bubbler or fountain 3| and is emitted therefrom in an inclined stream for drinking purposes. Obviously when cooled water is discharged from bubbler 3| relatively warm water enters pipe 42, under pressure from the source of water supply 43, and flows through the precooling pipe 5| within device 35 and thence through connection 44 and pipe 33 into the second precooling coil 23. Water is directed from coil 23 by pipe 24 ner walls of tank |5 where it is cooled to its proper or final low temperature by the refrigerating effect produced by evaporator 5. Cold water discharged from bubbler or fountain II, which is not consumed by the person seeking a drink or drinking, flows into the pit 31 of basin II and is directed by pipe 35 into the precooler device 35. This cold waste water emitted from pipe 35 strikes the plate 51 within device 35 and is directed thereby to the bottom wall 52 of pan 5| on the upper or left hand side of the first turn of pipe 5| as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. This waste water flows along the first part of pipe 5| in a direction represented by the arrows in Fig. 2 of the drawings to a point where this first part of pipe 5| is elevated relative to the bottom wall 52 of pan 5|. Here the cold waste water flows under the pipe 5| and is directed by the next angularly disposed intermediate portion of the pipe 5| to the opposite side of pan 5|. Since the portions of pipe'5l intermediate its bends 54 are sealed to the bottom wall 52 of pan 5| and since the reversely bent end portions 54 thereof are sealed to the side walls of the pan waste water is caused to flow in a zigzag or serpentine path across the pan 5| in its passage down the inclined bottom wall of the precooler device 35. The depressions 55 in the bottom wall 52 of pan 5| serve to co-operate with the sealing of pipe 5| to pan 5| to provide the back and forth or serpentine path of flow of the waste water described and provide ducts or waste water is Opposite the direction of flow of drinking water passing through pipe BI and this preference makes for better'heat exchange between the cold waste water and the relatively warm infiowing drinking water. The extended path of flow of waste water and drinking water in thermal heat exchange relationship with one another afforded by the'device 35 renders this device very efiicient as a precooler. Thus the device 35 may be termed a secondary precooler where cold waste water from the bubbler or fountain 3| is utilized to remove some heat from the incoming drinking water before the drinking water flows to the primary precooler associated with the evaporator of th'e refrigerating system.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that I I have provided an improved precooler wherein the extended path of flow of waste water in intimate thermal heat exchange relationship with the extended path of flow of relatively warm incoming drinking water insures complete utilization of the low temperature of the waste water before this waste water flows away from the water cooling apparatus. I have provided a structure wherein incoming drinking water is precooled in stages prior to its flow into the final cooling chamber to thereby increase the capacity of the water cooler under peak demands of cold water and prevent periodic too frequent starting and stopping operations of the refrigerating system or machine incorporated in the apparatus under normally cold water dispensing requirements. The: improved precooler is simple in construction'and its manufacturing cost 3 is completely negatived when compared to the increased emciency and larger capacity afforded by its use in a water cooling apparatus.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follows. 1

What, is'claimed is as follows:

1. An apparatus for cooling drinking water comprising in combination, a cooling chamber cooled water to a place of use, said first named the direction of inclination of the pan bottom,

means foradmitting cooled waste water to said pan at the top of the inclination of the pan bottom WalL-said pipe and said pan being so constructed and arranged with respect to one another as to direct the waste water back and forth across said pan and in contact with the intermediate portions of said pipe during flow thereof down the inclined bottom pan wall for lowering the temperature. of water to be cooled by said second named means, and said intermediate portions of said pipe being disposed at an angle to l one another to provide inclined paths of'flow of the waste water in both directions across the pan.

means including a precooler, said precooler com;

prising a pan having an inclined bottom wall and a pipe disposed thereupon, said pipe being bent into a serpentine form with the portions thereof intermediate its bends extending across the pan transversely of the direction of inclination of the pan bottom, means for admitting cooled waste water to said pan at the top of the inclination of the pan bottom wall, said pipe being sealed to the pan walls and normally obstructing the flow of waste water downwardly over the inclined bot- 1 tom pan wall, means adjacent the bends of said pipe forming a passage for the waste water between the intermediate portions. thereof, and said last named means being arranged to cause the and means forconveying water thereto to be means including a precooler, said precooler come prising a pan having an inclined bottom wall and a pipe disposed thereupon, said pipe being bent into a serpentine form with the portions thereof intermediate its bends extending'across the pan transversely of the direction of inclination of the pan bottom, means for admitting cooled waste water to said pan at the top of the inclination of the pan bottom wall, and said pipe and said pan being so constructed and arranged withrespect to one another as to' direct the waste water back and forth across said pan and in contact with the intermediate portions of said pipe during flow 'thereof down th'e inclined bottom pan wall for lowering the temperature of water to be cooled by said second named means.

2. An apparatus for cooling drinking water comprising in combination, a cooling chamber and means for conveying water thereto to be cooled, mean for cooling the water delivered to said cooling chamber, means for delivering the cooled water to a place of use, said first named means including a precooler, said precooler comprising a horizontally disposed pan having an inclined bottom wall and a pipe disposed there waste water to flow back and forth across the pan along and in contact with the intermediate portions 'of said pipe for lowering the temperature of water to be cooled by said second named means.

4. An apparatus. for cooling drinking water comprising in combination, a cooling chamber and means for conveying water theret to be cooled, means for cooling the water delivered to said cooling chamber, mean for .conveying the cooled water to a place of use, said first named means including a precooler, said precooler comprising a pan having an inclined bottom wall and a pipe disposed thereupon, said pipe being bent into a serpentine form with the portions thereof intermediate itsbends extending across the pan transversely of the direction of inclination of the pan bottom, means for admitting cooled waste water to said pan at the top of the inclination of the pan bottom wall, said pipe being sealed to the pan walls and normally obstruct-,-

ing the flow of waste water downwardly over the inclined bottom pan .wall, means adjacent the bends of said pipe forming a passage for the waste water between the intermediate portions thereof, said last named means being arranged to cause the waste water to flow back and forth across the pan along and in contact with theintermediate portions of said pipe for lowering the temperature of water to be cooled by said second named means, and said intermediate portions of said pipe being disposed at an angle to one another to provide inclined paths of flow of the waste water in both directions acros the pan.

5. An apparatus for cooling drinking water comprising in combination, a cooling chamber 3. An apparatus for cooling drinking water' comprising in combination, a cooling chamber and means for conveying water thereto to be cooled, means for cooling the water delivered to said cooling chamber, means for conveying the ,cooled water to a place of use, said first named means including a precooler, said precooler comprising a pan having an inclined bottom wall and a pipe disposed thereupon, said pipe being bent into a serpentine form with the portions thereof intermediate its bends extending across the pan transversely of the direction of inclination of the pan bottom, means. for admitting cooled waste water to said pan at the top of the inclination of the pan bottom wall, said pipe being sealed to the pan walls and normally obstructing the flow of waste water downwardly over the inclined bottom pan wall, said bottom wall of said pan having a set of spaced apart depressions formed therein along one side thereof and a second set of spaced apart depressions formed therein along the opposite side thereof, said depressions along the one side' of said pan cooperating with alternate intermediate portions of said pipe and the depressions along said other side of said pan also cooperating with alternate intermediate portions of said pipe to form passages for the flow of waste water down the inclined bottom pan wall, and said depression and said pipe causing the flow of waste water to be in a back and forth path across said pan and in contactwith each of said pipe portions for low- 5 ering the temperature of water to be cooled by said second named means.

6. An apparatus for cooling drinking water comprising in combination, a cooling chamber and means for conveying water thereto to be cooled, means for cooling the water delivered to said cooling chamber, means for conveying the cooled water to a place of use, said first named means including a precooler, said precooler comprising a pan having an inclined bottom wall and a pipe disposed thereupon, said pipe being bent into a serpentine form with the portions thereof intermediate its bends extending across the pan transversely of the direction of inclination' of the pan bottom, means for admitting cooled waste water to said pan at the top of the inclination of the pan bottom wall, said pipe being sealed to the pan walls and normally obstructing the flow of waste water downwardly over the inclined bottom pan wall, said bottom a wall of said pan having a set of spaced apart depressions formed therein along one side thereof and a second set of spaced apart depressions sages for the flow of waste water down the inclined bottom pan wall, said depressions and said pipe causing the fiow of waste water to be in a back and forth path across said pan and in contact with each of said pipe portions for lowering the temperature of water to be cooled by said second named means, and said intermediate portions of saidpipe being disposed at an angle to one another to provide inclined paths of flow of the waste water in both directions across the pan.

7. An apparatus for cooling drinking water comprising in combination, a cooling chamber and means for conveying water thereto to be cooled, means for cooling the water delivered to said cooling chamber, means for delivering the cooled water to a place of use, said first named means including a precooler, said precooler comprising a substantially pan-like element and a pipe disposed thereupon, means for admitting cooled waste water to said pan-like element and means for conveying the waste water away from said pan-like element, said pipe being bent with 1 portions intermediate its bends disposed between formed therein along the opposite side thereof,

said depressions along the one side of said can cooperating with alternate intermediate portutns of said pipe and the depressions along the other s'de of said pan also cooperating with alternate intermediate portions of said pipe to form passaid waste water admitting means and said waste water conveying means, and said pipe and said pan-like element being so constructed and arranged with respect to one another as to direct waste water admitted to said pan-like element in contact with intermediate portions of said pipe during flow thereof through the pan-like element to said waste water conveying means for lowering the temperature of water to be cooled by said second named means.

8. An apparatus for cooling drinking water comprising in combination, a cooling chamber and means for conveying water thereto to be cooled, means for cooling the water delivered to said cooling chamber, means for delivering the cooled water to a place of use, said first named -means'including a precooler, said precooler comprising a substantially pan-like element having an inclined bottom. wall and a pipe disposed thereupon, means for admitting cooled waste water to said pan-like element at the top of the inclination of the bottom wall thereof, said pipe being bent with portions intermediate its bends disposed between said waste water admitting means and said waste water conveying means, and said pipe and said pan-like element being so constructed and arranged with respect to one 1 another as to direct waste water admitted to said pan-like element in contact with intermediate portions of said pipe during flow thereof down the inclined pan-like element bottom wall for lowering the temperature of water to be cooled by said second named means.

VERNET I. GROVE. 

